Process of separating and refining complex ores.



' PATENTED MAR. 21; 1905.

I E.HEDBURG. PROCESS 0P SEPARATING AND REFINING COMPLEX 0115s.

APPLICATION FILED JAN.15 1904.

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Nrren TATES Patented March 21, 1.905

ERIC HEDBURG, or JoPLIN, MISSOURI, AssmNoRBY MESNE ASSIGN- MENTS, TO AMERICAN REDUCTION COMPANY, or CHICAGO, ILLI- -NOIS, A CORPORATION or ARIZONA TERRITORY.

PROCESS OF SEPQRATING AND REFlNlNG GQislPL EX QRES.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 785,167, dated March 21, 1905.

Application filed January 15,1904. Seria1No189,082.

To all whom it rwaqy-corrcerrz.

Be it known that I, ERIo HEDBURG, a citizen ofthe United States, and a resident of Joplin, in the county of Jasper and State of Missouri, have invented a new and useful Process of Separating and Refining Complex ()res, of which the following is a description.

,Heretofore various mines and dumps containing complex ores and tailings have been workable only at a loss or, at best, a small profit. By my hereinafter-described process such mines or dumps may be profitably worked. In this process the ores after being roasted are subjected to the action of a hydrocarbon gas, the effect of which isthat the copper,

nickel, and iron ores become magnetized,- while the ZlIlC ores remain non-magnetic, after which the ores are separated by my improved magnetic separators.

The first preliminary step in the process-is to crush the ores or concentrates to a degree of fineness suflicient to disengage the various mineral combinations. Next, the ores if not containing a suflicient quantityfor example,

substantially ten per cent. -of lirne or baryta or baryta sulfate are mixed with a portion of lime to facilitate the elimination of sulfur in .the process of roasting (as lime takes up sulfur when heated therewith) and also prevent overheating of the ores; but if the ores already contain a suflicient quantity-#01 example, more than ten per cent.of lime or baryta a portion of carbonaceous powder,

such as crushed coke or charcoal, is added to the ore to neutralize the excess of lime and eliminate the sulfur of baryta. The ores having been iiuxed to a proper consistency are charged into a drier and thence into a roasting-furnace, in' which they are subjected to a slightly-oxidizing roast, which transforms the copper and nickel sullids into acalcic oxid and ealcic ferrite, the baryta sulfatebeing disintegrated by the heat, whereby it loses part of its weight. an extent only as to remove the sulfur from the'outside of the particles to render the par ticles more sensitive to the action of a reduc- 1ng-gas, as described below. Having thus transformed the sullids into oxids and fer- The ores are roasted to such rites by abstracting a part of the sulfur therefrom the oxids become a powerful solvent for the precious values in the ores, which then combine with the calcium-affected iron oxid.

The ores are next exposed to the action of a hydrocarbon. gasby being passed through a conduit or cylinder which contains such a gas. I

Preferably the gas is generated by dropping petroleum (oil) upon or into the heated ore;

but the gas may be generated in any preferred ably about 7 centigrade and are raised by an elevator to a point where they are met by a blast of cool air,'whieh carries them into a -coolingchamber, in .wbichthey are quickly but only partially cooled, as the copper and nickel will lose their acquired magnetism if allowed to cool too much. The bottom of the cooling-chamber is constructed to form a hopper or hoppers, through which the ores fall into one .or more compound magnetic separators, the construction and operation of which will be briefly described hereinafter.

Reference is now had to the drawings,in

which-- Figure 1 illustrates diagrammatically the preferred form of apparatus by which my process maybe carried into effect, and Fig. 2 a detail View of the gas-conduit.

l is a revoluble cylindrical drier, which is inclined downwardly from its receiving to its discharge end, as shown, the lower end of which communicates by a downwardly-inclined passage 2 with a roaster 3, which is shown as a revoluble cylinder; but any preferred type of roaster may be employed. in lieu of the form shown. The cylindrical roaster 3 being inclined, the ores fall from its lower end, through a spout 4, into a gas conduit or cylinder 5, in which is a worm-conveyor 6, which carries the ore to one end thereof and dumps it upon an elevator 7. My preferred means for generating the hydrocarbon gas which magnetizes the gold-bearing iron ore is to drop petroleum or otherhydrocarbon supplies the aforesaid gas.

oil upon the ore within said conduit-,5, pref-. erably by means of a receptacle, as 8, placed above theconduit and having a suitable'opening in its bottom. (See Fig. 2.) The ore being still hot from the roast vaporizes this oil which The ores are taken up to a suitable height by the elevator 7, which dumps them into a blast-box 9, which is traversed bye-powerful blast of air actuated by a blower 10.- The blast-box communicates with acooling-chamoer 12, in the bottom-of which are preferably two hoppers 13, arranged substantially as shown. The ores are blown into this chamber, the heavier ores 'falling into the hopper hot when about to be separated, which is nec essary to attract the copper and nickel.

Openings covered with wire-cloth or canvas may be provided in the upper portion of this chamber for permitting the escape of the heated air and gases, but preventing the escape of any of the lighter finely-divided ore.

The ores are conducted by the hoppers into any well-known form of electromagnetic separators, the forms shown in outline and briefly described herein being preferred.

Beneath each hopper is placed one of my compound electromagnetic separators, each of which consists of two electromagnets mounted axially upon a vertical rotatable shaft, one above the other. Each magnet is entirely inclosed within its two pole-pieces 14, which are cup-shaped and have their proximate faces or edges separated by a ring 15,'of non-magnetic metal, so as to form a break in the magnetic circuit, The magnets (or the pole-pieces thereof) are engaged,respectively, by two scrapers 16 and 17, which remove the adhering ores from the surfaces of the revolving pole-pieces. The lower magnet is energized more strongly than the upper one to the end that the weaklymagnetized ores, as the silver-bearing ores, fall past the npper magnet and are attracted to the lower magnet, while the more stronglymagnetized ores, such as aurife'rous iron, adhere to the upper magnet. The unmagneti zed ore, such as the zinciferous, falls past both of the magnets and is received in a spout20 or any preferred form of receptacle. The gold and silver bearing ores are separately received by two spouts 18 and 19. I have made this magnet-separator the subject of a separate appli- 7 Having thus described my. invention, What I claim -as new, and desire to secure ters Patent, is'

1. The herein-describedprocess of treating ores, consisting in,'first, drying the ores; second, roasting the'samei third, subjecting the heated material to the action of a hydrocarbon gas; fourth, subjecting the material to an airblast to partially cool the same, and, fifth, passing the same through a magnetic separator.

2. The herein-described process of treating ores consisting in, first, drying crushed'ores; second, roasting and heating the same; third, subjecting the heated material to the action of a hydrocarbon gas generated by the heat from the roasted ore; fourth, partially cooling the material, and, fifth, passing the same through a magnetic separator.

3. The herein-described process of treating ores, consisting in, first, .drying the ores; secmaterial while heated to the action of a hydrocarbon gas generated by the heat from the roasted ore; fourth, partially cooling the material, and, fifth, separating the magnetic components by passing theorethrough magnetic fields of progressively'increased strength, whereby the strongly-magnetic ores are attracted by the lesser-energized magnetic field, and the slightly-magnetic ores by the highly-energized magnetic field, substantially as described.

4. The herein-described process of treating ores, consisting in, first, drying the same; second, roasting thesame; third, subjecting the same to an air-blast to partially separate and cool the same, and, fourth, separating-the magnetic components by passing the ore through magnetic fields of progressively-increased strength, substantially as described.

5. The herein-described process of treating ores previously reduced to fineparticles, consisting in, first, roasting the same; second,

subjecting the same while heated. to the action of a hydrocarbon. gas; third, partially cooling the material, and, fourth, passing the same through twomagnetic fields the second of which is more strongly energized than the first, substantially as described.

6. The herein-described process which con sists in mixing with crushed ore, a portion of lime, then roasting the mixture, nextsubjecting the heated material to hydrocarbon gas, subsequently cooling the same partially only, and finally passing the same through a magnetic separator.

in testimony whereof I have hereunto signed my name in the presence of two subscribing witnesses.

. ERIC HEDBUfRG. Witnesses;

SAMUEL HANsoN, Eiuo F. OBORG. 

